Reviews: Ray Iles

I bought three of these chisels from Ray Iles while living in England. Ray and everybody at The Old Tool Store were terrific—friendly and helpful and quick. And for whatever reason, despite a pretty weak dollar, the price was much better there than I could find them for in the states.
When I got home from England, I set to work flattening the backs and putting an edge on. I was dreading this, as I’ve read other reports that the D2 steel in these can make that a chore. But they ...

Ray Iles
plane irons
Really wonderful irons, thicker than standard app 3mm (left) instead of the normal 2mm (right).I choose the O1 carbon steel hardened to RC59-61, this is easy to touch up.
Comes in a protection pack and blade end are dipped in wax.Before using it, I gave it a hone, this because I like to be able to compare with what I usually do.
Since it’s thicker you might have to move the frog or open the mouth a wee bit on you plane.
I have been using the iro...